Shovel Ready by Adam Sternbergh
The Blurb On The Back:
Spademan used to be a garbage man.
Before the dirty bomb hit Times Square. Before his wife was killed. Before Manhattan became a burnt-out shell.
Now he’s a hitman.
It’s not so different from his old job - waste disposal is waste disposal. He doesn’t ask questions, he works quickly and he’s handy with a box cutter. But when his latest client hires him to kill the daughter of a powerful evangelist, the client’s sordid agenda brings chaos into Spademan’s uncluttered life.
Spademan must navigate the wasteland of New York to finish his job, clear his conscience and make sure he’s not the one who ends up in the ground.
It’s the future. When terrorists set off a dirty bomb in Times Square, it triggered a chain of similar bomb attacks that left New York a broken city abandoned by tourists and bitterly divided between the rich and poor. The rich (those who remain) have retreated into a virtual on-line world called the limnosphere, which they access through special beds - paying nurses and servants to put feedbags into their body and protect them. The poor either live in camps in Central Park or squat in abandoned apartments.
Spademan worked as a garbageman before the terrorist attacks killed his wife. Now he’s a killer for hire who won’t murder kids. When he’s hired to kill Grace - the daughter of a powerful evangelist with links to the political elite - Spademan finds himself caught within a web of dark family secrets and a sinister bid for power …
Adam Sternbergh’s debut SF thriller is a tight and stylish affair written in a clipped, hard-boiled noir voice that just about makes up for the lack of plot. The main reason to read it is Spademan who has a Chandler-esque feel to him as he explains his world to the reader. Although you don’t learn a huge amount about his background other than that he worked in garbage and was married to Stella (whose death seems to have broken him emotionally), the way he views the world is enough to get a good sense of who he is and the complex morality he has woven for himself (although I wish Sternbergh had steered clear of the hitman cliché about children). I was more bothered by the lack of development for Grace, who’s essentially a plot device and I wanted to know more about Mark (Spademan’s friend - a Christian youth worker nursing a guilty secret). The limnosphere is not a new concept but I liked how Sternbergh shows its effects on society (especially how it’s created a two tier internet). Additionally, the plot is wafer thin and I got many of the twists early on while the antagonist plays to the usual stereotypes. However, Sternbergh laces the final quarter with hints to a building story arc, which carries promise for future books and the writing is very tightly paced. As such, although the book isn’t without its flaws, there was enough here for me to enjoy and I’ll check out the sequel.
The Verdict:
Adam Sternbergh’s debut SF thriller is a tight and stylish affair written in a clipped, hard-boiled noir voice that just about makes up for the lack of plot. The main reason to read it is Spademan who has a Chandler-esque feel to him as he explains his world to the reader. Although you don’t learn a huge amount about his background other than that he worked in garbage and was married to Stella (whose death seems to have broken him emotionally), the way he views the world is enough to get a good sense of who he is and the complex morality he has woven for himself (although I wish Sternbergh had steered clear of the hitman cliché about children). I was more bothered by the lack of development for Grace, who’s essentially a plot device and I wanted to know more about Mark (Spademan’s friend - a Christian youth worker nursing a guilty secret). The limnosphere is not a new concept but I liked how Sternbergh shows its effects on society (especially how it’s created a two tier internet). Additionally, the plot is wafer thin and I got many of the twists early on while the antagonist plays to the usual stereotypes. However, Sternbergh laces the final quarter with hints to a building story arc, which carries promise for future books and the writing is very tightly paced. As such, although the book isn’t without its flaws, there was enough here for me to enjoy and I’ll check out the sequel.
Spademan used to be a garbage man.
Before the dirty bomb hit Times Square. Before his wife was killed. Before Manhattan became a burnt-out shell.
Now he’s a hitman.
It’s not so different from his old job - waste disposal is waste disposal. He doesn’t ask questions, he works quickly and he’s handy with a box cutter. But when his latest client hires him to kill the daughter of a powerful evangelist, the client’s sordid agenda brings chaos into Spademan’s uncluttered life.
Spademan must navigate the wasteland of New York to finish his job, clear his conscience and make sure he’s not the one who ends up in the ground.
It’s the future. When terrorists set off a dirty bomb in Times Square, it triggered a chain of similar bomb attacks that left New York a broken city abandoned by tourists and bitterly divided between the rich and poor. The rich (those who remain) have retreated into a virtual on-line world called the limnosphere, which they access through special beds - paying nurses and servants to put feedbags into their body and protect them. The poor either live in camps in Central Park or squat in abandoned apartments.
Spademan worked as a garbageman before the terrorist attacks killed his wife. Now he’s a killer for hire who won’t murder kids. When he’s hired to kill Grace - the daughter of a powerful evangelist with links to the political elite - Spademan finds himself caught within a web of dark family secrets and a sinister bid for power …
Adam Sternbergh’s debut SF thriller is a tight and stylish affair written in a clipped, hard-boiled noir voice that just about makes up for the lack of plot. The main reason to read it is Spademan who has a Chandler-esque feel to him as he explains his world to the reader. Although you don’t learn a huge amount about his background other than that he worked in garbage and was married to Stella (whose death seems to have broken him emotionally), the way he views the world is enough to get a good sense of who he is and the complex morality he has woven for himself (although I wish Sternbergh had steered clear of the hitman cliché about children). I was more bothered by the lack of development for Grace, who’s essentially a plot device and I wanted to know more about Mark (Spademan’s friend - a Christian youth worker nursing a guilty secret). The limnosphere is not a new concept but I liked how Sternbergh shows its effects on society (especially how it’s created a two tier internet). Additionally, the plot is wafer thin and I got many of the twists early on while the antagonist plays to the usual stereotypes. However, Sternbergh laces the final quarter with hints to a building story arc, which carries promise for future books and the writing is very tightly paced. As such, although the book isn’t without its flaws, there was enough here for me to enjoy and I’ll check out the sequel.
The Verdict:
Adam Sternbergh’s debut SF thriller is a tight and stylish affair written in a clipped, hard-boiled noir voice that just about makes up for the lack of plot. The main reason to read it is Spademan who has a Chandler-esque feel to him as he explains his world to the reader. Although you don’t learn a huge amount about his background other than that he worked in garbage and was married to Stella (whose death seems to have broken him emotionally), the way he views the world is enough to get a good sense of who he is and the complex morality he has woven for himself (although I wish Sternbergh had steered clear of the hitman cliché about children). I was more bothered by the lack of development for Grace, who’s essentially a plot device and I wanted to know more about Mark (Spademan’s friend - a Christian youth worker nursing a guilty secret). The limnosphere is not a new concept but I liked how Sternbergh shows its effects on society (especially how it’s created a two tier internet). Additionally, the plot is wafer thin and I got many of the twists early on while the antagonist plays to the usual stereotypes. However, Sternbergh laces the final quarter with hints to a building story arc, which carries promise for future books and the writing is very tightly paced. As such, although the book isn’t without its flaws, there was enough here for me to enjoy and I’ll check out the sequel.